Roadblock apparatus



- Oct. 7, 1969 RB. SEVERNS 3,471,130

ROADBLOCK APPARATUS Filed Jan. 29, 1968 Ray E. Se verns INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,471,130 ROADBLOCK APPARATUS Ray E. Severus, 218 Ingersoll, Albion, N.Y. 14411 Filed Jan. 29. 1968, Ser. No. 701,240

Int. Cl. E0411 17/16; E01f 13/00 U.S. Cl. 256-64 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The roadblock apparatus disclosed is adapted to assist oflicers of the law to pursue and often capture the driver of a stolen or a get-away car. It can be set up and used in lieu of barricades, barriers or blockading cars and trucks. It comprises a rupture-resisting plastic sheet panel or shield suspended between a pair of opposed posts. The ends are joined to the respective posts by break-away links or loops. Reinforcing and stabilizing nylon ropes are laced through properly arranged rows of grommets. When the oncoming car crashes into the yieldable shield, the bottom rope catches below the cars bumper, the next above rope catches at grille level, and the top rope lets the top part of the shield drop and drape over the windshield.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in portable roadblocks, barriers, trafiic barricades and the like and has to do, more particularly, with a temporarily usable roadblock apparatus characterized by a pair of sectional roadside posts and a plastic sheet or shield which is tautened and suspended between the posts in such a manner that it can be freed upon forcible impact of the oncoming car therewith and which automatically comes into play to harass the driver, block his vision, and prevent safe forward travel of his car.

Briefly, the roadblock apparatus herein under advisement comprises a pair of duplicate companion knockdown posts adapted to be set up and anchored to assume vertical positions along the marginal edges of a highway opposite each other, a sheet of non-transparent flexible rupture-resisting plastic material spanning the space between said posts and providing a collapsible pliant shield, said shield being of a length to extend across the path of travel of the highway and being of a vertical height to effectually shield and obscure the path of travel immediately in front of and to progressively block the vision of the driver of an oncoming car, pressure responsive frangible metal links carried by vertical edge portions of said shield and looped around said posts in a manner to suspend the shield in its path blocking position, whereby when the oncoming car crashes into the shield, the frangible links break and the plastic shield is freed and caused to collapse in such a manner that it spreadingly covers the front end of the car and windshield and blocks the drivers View in a manner to assist officers of the law to capture the driver.

One improvement has to do with the uprights or posts. These are of sectional and knockdown construction and are held in stable vertical positions by suitably anchored guy wires. The respective vertical marginal end portions of the plastic panel or shield are operatively connected with their respective posts by frangible pressure responsive loops or linking elements. These elements loop around coacting portions of the posts and are tied or otherwise connected with the shield so that when the oncoming car is driven into contact with the shield the ends of the shield break away and are freed from their moorings. The result is that the shield is caused to collapse and cover the front portion of the car and particularly the windshield in such a manner "ice that it will harass and momentarily blind the would-be get-away driver.

In addition, novelty is predicated on the provision of several horizontal rows of grommets. These grommets are embedded or otherwise fastened within the marginal limits of the shield. There is a first horizontal row of grommets just above the level of the bottom edge, a second horizontal row of grommets just below the level of the upper marginal edge. In addition there is a third row of grommets a short distance above and parallel with the first horizontal row. Nylon reinforcing ropes or thongs are laced through the grommets to serve as reinforcing elements. Accordingly, when the oncoming car hits the reinforced component portions the bottom of the sheet or shield catches below the bumper, the second row catches at about grille level, and the top edge portion lets the plastic sheet down over the windshield and cuts off the vision of the driver.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of roadblock apparatus designed and constructed in accordance with the present invention and showing the manner in which it is erected or set up for practical use.

FIG. 2 is a view on a suitably enlarged scale showing approximately how the freed shield or plastic sheet functions as a cover or blanket and spans the windshield in a manner to partially block the vision of the driver.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view detailing a portion of one of the posts, showing grommets and also showing at the right the frangible or break-away linking connection between a vertical marginal edge of the shield and the adjacent post.

The temporarily usable portable roadblock apparatus shown completely in FIG. 1 is expressly designed not only to warn the oncoming driver to slow down, it functions as a veritable trap if the driver refuses to stop and crashes into the blocking shield. The uprights or posts at the left and right marginal edges of the highway 4 are denoted at 6. Each post is approximately some twelve feet high and comprises a sectional or knockdown construction. Each section 8 is some four feet in length and the sections are lined up and joined by coupling sleeves 10. The lower end of the post is driven or otherwise anchored in the ground or roadside 12 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 1. The guy wires 14 are of suitable construction and have their upper ends 16 converging and joined to the upper end of the post. The lower ends are staked in the ground as denoted at 18. The nontransparent flexible rupture-resisting plastic sheet material which comprises the shield is denoted, as a unit, by the numeral 20. This shield consists of a sheet of suitable tough plastic which may be twelve feet high and twenty to thirty feet in length. The sheet is suspended between the twelve-foot uprights or poles 6 and is connected thereto by frangible connecting means. This means is referred to as linking means and is denoted generally by the numeral 22 in FIG. 3. The plastic sheet has a lower horizontal edge 24, an upper edge 26 and vertical edges 28. The edges 28 are parallel and are spaced from the coacting posts. The linking means 22 may be arranged at several levels or only at the upper level. It is preferred to utilize it at the several vertically spaced points in the manner shown in FIG. 1. The means comprises a wire loop linking device having one end portion threaded through a grommet 30 provided therefor. A portion of the loop is wrapped at least twice around the post as denoted at 32 and the end portions are tied together as at 34. The linking device is proportional with the post, the sheet and space so that when it is forcibly subjected to strain it will automatically break and free the plastic shield whereby it will move from the erect stopping position shown in FIG. 1 to the blocking and blinding position illustrated in FIG. 2. The front surface, the side seen in FIG. 1 may be provided with a warning such as the word Stop as denoted at 36 and the letters of the word can be of light reflecting material for satisfactory night use.

In addition to the shield being suspended between the posts by frangible linking devices 22, the shield is reinforced at several levels. To accomplish this there is a bottom row of longitudinally spaced grommets 38. This row of grommets is just above and parallel with the lower edge 24. The second row, constituting the horizontal top row, comprises grommets conveniently denoted at 40. The third row of grommets is denoted at 42. For convenience of description the bottom row of grommets is designated generally by the numeral 44, the top row at 46 and the intermediate or intervening row at 47. The row 47 is just above the row 44. These rows of grommets serve to accommodate the nylon ropes or thongs 48 which are laced therethrough and knotted and held in place in the manner suggested in phantom lines in FIG. 3.

The construction of the individual component parts and the manner in which they are oriented and coordinated for use is shown in FIG. 1. The detailed construction of a single break-away linking device is shown at the right at 22 in FIG. 3. The general arrangement of the plurality of linking devices 22 is shown at both ends of the plastic shield in FIG. 1. The manner in which the lower edge, upper edge and intermediate portions of the shield is reinforced for more feasible use is shown at the several levels 44, 46 and 47 particularly in FIG. 1. It will be evident therefore that when the oncoming car engages the shield the frangible linking devices 22 will breakaway and permit the over-all shield 20 to be freed from the suspending posts 6. The theory is that with this construction and arrangement the reinforced bottom edge portion 24 and means 44 will lodge itself and catch at a level below the bumper as illustrated in FIG. 2. The intermediate reinforced portion 47 will trap the hood and grille. The free upper edge portion 26 will be caused to collapse and cover the cars windshield in a manner to confuse and momentarily blind the would-be get-away driver.

The invention, in a manner of speaking, provides a huge stop sign which in and of itself could prove out to i be a warning that would slow down the oncoming car. On the other hand, if the car advances it will forcibly contact the shield and result in the trapping and vision blinding result suggested in FIG. 2.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A portable roadblock comprising a pair of uprights adapted to be fixedly erected along cooperating marginal edges of a highway opposite each other, horizontally elongated vertically disposed vision blocking means comprising a non-transparent flexible sheet material shield capable of being stretched completely across the highway surface in a plane vertical to the plane of said surface, said shield being of a vertical height that the upper edge portion will be in a position higher than the level of the roof of said car, the respective vertical end portions of said shield being spaced from and operatively connected to their respective uprights by frangible pressure responsive linking devices, said linking devices comprising break-away wire loops which are looped around the aforementioned uprights and connected by grommets carried by coacting end portions of said shield, the upper, lower and inbetween lengthwise portions of said shield being provided with longitudinally disposed tautening and reinforcing elements laced through rows of eyelet-like grommets which are embedded for such purposes in said shield.

2. The roadblock defined in and according to claim 1, and wherein said sheet material comprises a sheet of flexible rupture-resisting plastic material, said uprights each comprising a knockdown sectional pole, and guy wires having upper converging ends secured to their respectively cooperable poles and lower outwardly downwardly diverging ends which are adapted to be staked in the ground at predetermined anchor points.

3. The roadblock defined in and according to claim 1 and wherein at least one vertical face of shield has the admonition stop displayed thereon in huge letters to serve as an advance warning to an oncoming driver, and also wherein said shield is substantially 12 feet high and 20 to 30 feet long, and said upright comprise poles which are substantially 12 feet high.

4. A temporary portable roadblock apparatus designed to warn, slow down, and trap the driver of a speeding stolen or get-away car comprising: a pair of complemental posts adapted to be set up and anchored to assume vertical positions along the marginal edges of a highway opposite each other, a sheet of flexible ruptureresisting plastic material spanning the space between said posts and providing a collapsible pliant s'nield, said shield being of a length to extend across the path of travel of the highway and being of a vertical height to effectually shield and obscure the path of travel immediately in front of and to progressively block the vision of the driver of an oncoming car, pressure responsive frangible loops carried by vertical edge portions of said shield and looped around said posts in a manner to suspend the shield in its path blocking position whereby when the oncoming car crashes into the shield, the frangible loops break and the plastic shield is freed and caused to collapse, and horizontal vertically spaced rows of grommets fastened within the marginal limits of said shield, there being a first horizontal row of grommets just above the level of the bottom edge of said shield, a second horizontal row of grommets just below the level of the upper marginal edge of the shield, and a third horizontal row of grommets a short distance above and parallel with said first horizontal row of grommets, and a nylon reinforcing thong laced through the grommets of each row.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 264,504 9/1882 Ambrose et al. 25664 1,863,310 6/1932 Krage 49131 X 2,263,649 11/1941 Sawyer 256-13.1 X 2,295,205 9/1942 Fraser 25613.10 X 2,465,936 3/1949 Schultz 256-13.1 X 3,351,322 11/1967 Mueller 256-3.1 3,366,353 1/1968 Jackson.

FOREIGN PATENTS 174,694 3/ 1961 Sweden.

DENNIS L. TAYLOR, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 49-9 

